The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is celebrating its hundredth anniversary. The Indian Communist party, too, will see its centenary soon. But Communism is declining all over the world. Communism is a political and economic ideology that opposes liberal democracy and capitalism and advocates a classless system.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is credited with saying, “If you’re not a liberal when you’re 25, you have no heart. If you’re not a conservative by the time you’re 35, you have no brain.”
The Russian revolution brought the Communists to power in 1917 and in other countries later, which made the world sit up and recognize Karl Marx. But Lenin left behind a distorted Marxism. Today there are only five Communist countries, namely China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam. The economic theories of Karl Marx advocated more than 150 years ago, became unchallengeable doctrine in many countries for much of the 20th century.
In fact, the term Marxist was unknown in those days. Karl Marx himself once said, “All I know is that I am not a Marxist.” He died a poor man, and only 11 people showed up for his funeral when he died at 65. The Communists, however, are no longer politically dominant. With the globalisation of the Indian market, the death of the USSR, and the absence of grassroots leaders like EMS Namboodiripad, who led the first communist government in Kerala, the decline started.
The organised workforce also shrunk. M.N. Roy founded the Communist Party in India in 1925. Interestingly, the RSS was formed just three months before the CPI. By embracing the parliamentary route in the first general elections (1951-52), the undivided CPI and the People’s Democratic Front bagged 24 Lok Sabha seats with a vote share of 4.59 per cent. It was the main opposition party in the first, second and third Lok Sabhas.
The Left’s decline began with the CPI splitting in 1964 following ideological differences between the Soviet and Chinese parties. One of the issues on which the two parties differed was the role of India’s ruling Congress party. In 1967, the CPI got 23 seats and 5.11 per cent of votes, and the CPM bagged 19 seats with a vote share of 4.28 per cent. In the next few decades, the CPI-M entrenched itself in West Bengal and ruled the state from 1977 to 2011.
In Tripura, it ruled for 25 years till 2018, and in Kerala, it had mixed success. After the Emergency, the CPI ended its association with the Congress and became a junior partner of CPI (M)-led alliances in the three Left strongholds. However, the CPI (M) rebuffed its calls for the reunification of the two parties.
The Left parties were at their height in 2004 when they got 61 seats in the Lok Sabha and supported the UPA government. However, they pulled out their support in 2008 on the issue of the Indo-US nuclear pact. Since then, it has seen only downward movement. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the CPM and CPI won three and two seats respectively, with corresponding poll shares of 1.75 and 0.58 per cent.
Today it is only ruling in Kerala. One of the reasons for their decline is that they have become irrelevant and do not keep pace with the changes in the world. Secondly, they are unable to keep in step with the millennials or understand their aspirations. Because of this, their membership has dwindled. Thirdly, their sources of funding have also shrunk with the loss of states like West Bengal.
Fourthly, they no longer have leaders like E.M.S Namboodiripad. After Jyoti Basu’s death, the party lost its sheen even in West Bengal. Fortunately for them, Pinarayi Vijayan is keeping the flag flying in Kerala by winning a second term recently. Finally, the Left front is not united. As many as 84 parties branched out from the parent party (CPI) and follow communism today.
Just like the Congress, the Left parties are also living in the past and do not see the present political reality while the BJP is surging. Across the globe, a political rightward shift is slowly and steadily gaining momentum. It would be tragic if the Left were to disappear.
For all its failures, it is needed to maintain India’s democratic character. But to remain relevant it has to change and be in step with the present-day realities. India has changed and the Left has failed to keep pace. Pragmatic decisions and a shift in approach are essential.